Spotlight

ABSTRACT

A spotlight and a method of controlling the spotlight with an external device. The spotlight having a first light source including a center spotlight, a second light source including area lights, a power supply, a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with the external device, and a processor. The processor is operable to receive a first input from the external device specifying a first amount of power to be provided to the first light source, and receive a second input from the external device specifying a second amount of power to be provided to the second light source. The processor is also operable to control the power supply to provide the first amount of power to the first light source in response to the first input, and control the power supply to provide the second amount of power to the second light source in response to the second input.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/254,248, filed Sep. 1, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,699,865, whichclaims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/214,172, filedSep. 3, 2015, and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/237,776, filedOct. 6, 2015, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to lights, such as spotlights,floodlights, or flashlights.

SUMMARY

One embodiment provides a spotlight configured to be controlled by anexternal device. The spotlight includes a first light source and asecond light source and a power supply providing power to the firstlight source and the second light source. The spotlight also includes atransceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with the externaldevice and a processor electrically coupled to the first light source,the second light source, the power supply, and the transceiver. Theprocessor is operable to receive a first input from the external devicespecifying a first amount of power to be provided to the first lightsource and receive a second input from the external device specifying asecond amount of power to be provided to the second light source. Theprocessor is also operable to control the power supply to provide thefirst amount of power to the first light source in response to the firstinput and control the power supply to provide the second amount of powerto the second light source in response to the second input.

Another embodiment provides a method of controlling a spotlight having afirst light source, a second light source, and a power supply. Themethod includes receiving a first input from an external devicespecifying a first amount of power to be provided to the first lightsource and receiving a second input from the external device specifyinga second amount of power to be provided to the second light source. Themethod also includes controlling, via a processor of the spotlight, thepower supply to provide the first amount of power to the first lightsource in response to the first input and controlling, via theprocessor, the power supply to provide the second amount of power to thesecond light source in response to the second input.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a light including a processor,a first light source, and a second light source. The first light sourceincludes a center spotlight. The second light source includes arealights. The processor is operable to allow independent operation of thefirst light source and the second light source.

In some embodiments, the light also includes a film that, uponapplication of a current, changes in opacity.

In some embodiments, the light further includes an ambient light sensorto adjust the intensity of the first and second light sources based onthe sensed ambient light.

In some embodiments, the light also includes a distance sensor to adjustthe intensity of the first and second light sources based on thedetected distance from an object.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration ofthe detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a spotlight and an external device embodyingthe invention.

FIGS. 2-4 are schematics of the spotlight and the external deviceoperating in a first condition.

FIGS. 5-7 are schematics of the spotlight and the external deviceoperating in a second condition.

FIGS. 8-10 are schematics of the spotlight and the external deviceoperating in a third condition.

FIG. 11 is a schematic of another spotlight embodying the invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic of yet another spotlight and an external deviceembodying the invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic of still another spotlight and an external deviceembodying the invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic of another external device embodying theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in its application tothe details of construction and the arrangement of components set forthin the following description or illustrated in the following drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways.

FIG. 1 illustrates a spotlight, floodlight, or flashlight 10 accordingto an embodiment of the invention. As shown, the spotlight 10 includes aprocessor 12 coupled to a first light source 14 and to a second lightsource 16. The processor 12 is configured to control a power supply 18to supply power to the first light source 14 and the second light source16. A user input 20, such as a first variable switch and a secondvariable switch, is coupled to processor 12 to allow a user to modifythe amount of power supplied to the first light source 14 and secondlight source 16. In addition, the communications module 22 is coupled tothe processor 12 to allow an external device 24, via wirelesscommunications, to supply an alternate input for controlling the amountof power supplied to the first light source 14 and the second lightsource 16. The external device 24 may be, for example, a portableelectronic device or computing device such as a smart phone, tablet,laptop, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the spotlight 10 includes a housing 28 that supportsthe first light source 14 and the second light source 16. The housing 28also supports and at least partially encloses the processor 12, thepower supply 18, the communications module 22, and other components ofthe spotlight 10. The spotlight 10, therefore, is a self-contained unitthat is separate from the external device 24.

The first light source 14 and the second light source 16 may be, forexample, incandescent light bulbs, halogen lights, light emitting diodes(LED), or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thepower supply 18 may be connected to the first light source 14 and thesecond light source 16 through the processor 12. In some embodiments,the power supply 18 may be connected to the first light source 14 andthe second light source 16 through a switch bridge or a light driver(for example, an LED driver). The switch bridge may be controlled by theprocessor 12 to provide a specific amount of power to the first lightsource 14 and the second light source 16.

The power supply 18 may be, for example, a Lithium-ion battery pack, anickel cadmium battery pack, or the like. In some embodiments, theprocessor 12 is implemented as a microprocessor with separate memory(not shown). In other embodiments, the processor 12 may be implementedas a microcontroller (with memory on the same chip). The processor 12may be implemented partially or entirely as, for example, afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), and application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). The communications module 22 may be, forexample, a transceiver that enables wireless communication between thespotlight 10 and the external device 24. In other embodiments, ratherthan a transceiver, the communications module 22 may be implemented toinclude separate transmitting and receiving components, for example, atransmitter and a receiver. The communications module 22 may be, forexample, a Bluetooth® chip, a Wi-Fi™ chip, or the like.

In some embodiments, the variable switches of the user input 20 may be,for example, on-off buttons, trigger switches, knobs, and the like. Thevariable switches may be located on the housing 28 of the spotlight 10and may be operated by a user to specify the amount of power to besupplied to the first light source 14 and the second light source 16.FIG. 1 illustrates only one exemplary embodiment of a spotlight 10. Inother embodiments, the spotlight 10 may include more or fewer componentsand may perform functions that are not explicitly described herein.

The external device 24 includes a device processor 11, a device memory13, a device transceiver 23, and a device input/output interface 25. Thedevice processor 11, the device memory 13, the device transceiver 23,and the device input/output interface 25 may communicate over one ormore control and/or data buses (for example, a device communication bus15). FIG. 1 illustrates only one exemplary embodiment of the externaldevice 24. The external device 24 may include more or fewer componentsthan illustrated and may perform additional functions other than thosedescribed herein.

The device processor 11 may be implemented in various ways includingways that are similar to those described above with respect to theprocessor 12. In the example illustrated, the device memory 13 includesnon-transitory, computer-readable memory that stores instructions thatare received and executed by the device processor 11 to carry out thefunctionality of the external device 24. The device memory 13 mayinclude, for example, a program storage area and a data storage area.The program storage area and the data storage area may includecombinations of different types of memory, such as read-only memory andrandom-access memory.

The device transceiver 23 enables wireless communication between theexternal device 24 and the spotlight 10. In other embodiments, ratherthan a device transceiver 23, the external device 24 may includeseparate transmitting and receiving components, for example, atransmitter and a receiver. The device input/output interface 25 mayinclude one or more input mechanisms (for example, a touch screen, akeypad, a button, a knob, and the like), one or more output mechanisms(for example, a display, a speaker, and the like), or a combinationthereof.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate an example of using the external device 24 tocontrol the amount of power supplied to the first light source 14 andsecond light source 16. As shown in FIG. 2, a screen presented to theuser on the device input/output interface 25 of the external device 24allows the user to modify a percentage of power supplied to the firstgroup of lights (for example, the first light source 14), such as acenter spotlight configured to cast a narrow beam via an optical lens26, and to modify a percentage of power supplied to the second group oflights (for example, the second light source 16), such as area lightsconfigured to cast a broad coverage beam. FIG. 3 illustrates an examplearrangement of the first light source 14 and the second light source 16on the spotlight 10 housing 28. The first light source 14 is a centerspotlight arranged at the center of a light-emitting surface of thehousing 28. The second light source 16 is a group of lights arranged ator close to the periphery of the light-emitting surface of the housing28 and around the first light source 14. Other embodiments may havedifferent arrangements of the first light source 14 and the second lightsource 16.

As described above, a switch bridge may be controlled by the processor12 to provide a specific amount of power to the first light source 14and the second light source 16. For example, the switch bridge may be aconstant current driver where the voltage received from the power supply18 may be constant, but the current may vary depending on the selectedbrightness. In such embodiments, the current supplied by the switchbridge may be constant, but a voltage regulator may vary the voltageprovided to the first light source 14 or the second light source 16 tovary the brightness. In other embodiments, the switch bridge may be aconstant voltage driver where the current provided to the first lightsource 14 and the second light source 16 is varied, but the voltageprovided to the first light source 14 and the second light source 16 iskept constant (although this voltage may not be the same as the voltagesupplied by the power supply 18).

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the user interface includes twoslider bars 30 and 32 for receiving an input (for example, first inputat slider bar 30 and second input at slider bar 32) from a user. Theslider bars 30 and 32 may correspond to a brightness level of the firstlight source 14 and the second light source 16, respectively. The usercan set the percentage of power for the separate light groups between 0%and 100% as desired, where 100% corresponds to the maximum amount ofpower that can be delivered to the first light source 14 or the secondlight source 16. As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the center spotlight is set to10, and the area lights are set to 100. As such, a beam pattern iscreated for broader, general area lighting, as shown in FIG. 4. Theslider bars 30 and 32 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be used to map to alight intensity. That is, the slider bars 30 and 32 can map the firstinput and the second input to a percentage of maximum amount of powercapable of being provided to the first light source 14 or the secondlight source 16. For example, at “100” brightness, 100% of the power(voltage or current) may be provided to the first light source 14 orsecond light source 16. Similarly, at “50” brightness, 50% of the powermay be provided to the first light source 14 or the second light source16. The actual amount of current or voltage provided may depend on therequirements of the type of light source used.

As shown in FIGS. 5-7, a beam pattern for a long-throw spotlight iscreated. As shown, the center spotlight is set to “100,” and the arealights are set to “10.”

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate a beam pattern where the center and area lightsare set to a 50% power level.

After the brightness of the light sources 14 and 16 is set using theslider bars 30 and 32, the variable switches of the user input 20(FIG. 1) may be used to make adjustments to the brightness. For example,the first variable switch is coupled to the processor 12 to adjust theinput to the first light source 14, and the second variable switch iscoupled to the processor 14 to adjust the input to the second lightsource 16. The variable switches 14 and 16 allow a user to make quickadjustments to the intensity of the light sources 14 and 16 directly atthe spotlight 10, without having to use the external device 24.

FIG. 11 illustrates another spotlight, floodlight, or flashlight 100.The spotlight 100 includes a light source 104, a power supply 108, and alens 112. The illustrated spotlight 100 also includes a film 116 appliedto the lens 112. The film 116 may be, for example, a smart film sold bySonte. The film 116 is coupled to the power supply 108 through aprocessor (for example, processor 12) or switch 120. That is, the film116 may include one or more electrodes connected to an output of aprocessor of the spotlight 100, which in turn in connected to the powersupply 108. In a first state (i.e., when no current is applied to thefilm 116), the film 116 is clear or transparent. In a second state(i.e., upon application of a current to the film 116), the opacity ofthe film 116 changes (e.g., increases). In the second state, the film116 tends to diffuse the light from the light source 104 to provide adiffuse light. In some embodiments, the film 116 may be electronicallyactuated to act as a lens and change the light source 104 between spotor flood modes depending on the amount of current provided. In otherembodiments, the film 116 may be used to dim the light source 104 bydecreasing the transparency/translucency or changing the color of thefilm in response to changes in current provided. Thus, only a singlespot LED may be needed to provide both spot lighting and area lighting.However, in some embodiments, the film 116 may be used in combinationwith the spotlight 10 of FIG. 1. In these embodiments, the amount ofcurrent applied to the film 116 may be controlled by the processor 12.

Similar to the center spotlights and area lights discussed above, thecurrent applied to the film 116 may be controlled by an external device24. In some embodiments, the amount of current applied to the film 116(and thus the opacity of the film 116) can be varied to provide varyingamounts of spot and area lighting based on the input from the externaldevice 24. The external device 24 may display a third slider bar(similar to the first slider bar 30 or second slider bar 32) to receivean input (for example, a third input) from the user. This input from theuser may be mapped to the current provided to the film 116. The inputmay be mapped as described above with respect to slider bars 30 and 32.

In some embodiments, the film 116 is applied to the entire lens 112 ofthe spotlight 100. In other embodiments, the film 116 may only beapplied to portions or sections of the lens 112 to create differentlighting patterns.

FIG. 12 illustrates a spotlight, floodlight, or flashlight 200 accordingto another embodiment of the invention. The spotlight 200 is similar tothe spotlight 10 discussed above; however, the illustrated spotlight 200also includes an ambient light sensor 204. The ambient light sensor 204is coupled to the processor 12 and senses ambient light from thesurrounding environment. In operation, the processor 12 can adjust theintensity of either or both of the first light source 14 and the secondlight source 16 based on the ambient light sensed by the ambient lightsensor 204. Additionally or alternatively, the processor 12 can adjustthe distribution between the first light source 14 and the second lightsource 16 based on the ambient light sensed by the ambient light sensor204. For example, the ambient light sensor 204 may provide an input tothe processor 12 indicating the amount of ambient light sensed. Theprocessor 12 may be pre-configured to convert the input received fromthe ambient light sensor 204 to an output power of the first lightsource 14 and the second light source 16. The processor 12 may convertthe ambient light sensed to a power output using, for example, a look-uptable stored in the memory of the processor 12. However, othertechniques of converting ambient light sensed to power output are alsopossible and contemplated by this disclosure.

In some embodiments, when the ambient light is relatively high, thespotlight 200 may automatically adjust the intensity to be high, whereaswhen the ambient light is low (or OFF), the intensity may be reduced toconserve power and only provide what is needed. In some embodiments, thelight provided may be low (or even OFF) if other ambient sources areproviding sufficient light and the intensity increases as the ambientlight decreases so that the total amount of light stays at the samelevel.

FIG. 13 illustrates a spotlight, floodlight, or flashlight 300 accordingto another embodiment of the invention. The spotlight 300 is similar tothe spotlight 10 discussed above; however, the illustrated spotlight 300also includes a distance sensor 304. The distance sensor 304 is coupledto the processor 12 and detects the distance between the spotlight 300and an object (e.g., whatever object, surface, etc. the spotlight 300 ispointed at). In some embodiments, the distance sensor 304 may be, forexample, an ultrasonic sensor, an infra-red sensor, or the like. Basedon the detected distance, the processor 12 can adjust the intensity ofeither or both of the first light source 14 and the second light source16. Additionally or alternatively, the processor 12 can adjust thedistribution between the first light source 14 and the second lightsource 16 based on the detected distance. For example, the distancesensor 304 may provide an input to the processor 12 indicating thedistance between the spotlight 300 and an object. The processor 12 maybe pre-configured to convert the input received from the distance sensor304 to an output power of the first light source 14 and the second lightsource 16. The processor 12 may convert the distance sensed to a poweroutput using, for example, a look-up table stored in the memory of theprocessor 12. However, other techniques of converting distance sensed topower output are also possible and contemplated by this disclosure. Insome embodiments, when the spotlight 300 is farther from a work area orobject, the processor 12 may increase the amount of light provided.Similarly, when the spotlight 300 is closer to the work area or object,the processor 12 may decrease the amount of light provided.

FIG. 14 illustrates another example of an external device 400 for usewith the spotlights. The external device 400 includes a user interface404 (e.g., a screen) presented to the user that allows the user tomodify the percentage of power applied to the groups of lights. In theillustrated embodiment, the user interface 404 has a single slider bar408 (for example, single variable switch) that controls the percentagepower distribution between the first light source 14 (e.g., centerspotlight) and the second light source 16 (e.g., area lights). That is,the slider bar 408 allows a user to specify the amount of powerdelivered to the first light source 14 (for example, a first input) andthe second light source 16 (for example, a second input) ascomplementary percentages of a maximum amount of power capable of beingprovided by the power supply 18. For example, the slider bar 408 allowsa user to select X % of power delivered to the first light source 14 andtherefore to select (100−X) % of power delivered to the second lightsource 16.

Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a spotlight configuredto be controlled by an external device.

We claim:
 1. A spotlight configured to be controlled by an externaldevice, the spotlight comprising: a housing; a first light sourcesupported by the housing and including a center spotlight; a secondlight source supported by the housing and including area lights; a powersupply providing power to the first light source and the second lightsource; a transceiver positioned within the housing, the transceiverconfigured to communicate wirelessly with the external device; and aprocessor positioned within the housing and electrically coupled to thefirst light source, the second light source, the power supply, and thetransceiver and operable to: receive a first input from the externaldevice specifying a first amount of power to be provided to the firstlight source, receive a second input from the external device specifyinga second amount of power to be provided to the second light source,control the power supply to provide the first amount of power to thefirst light source in response to the first input, and control the powersupply to provide the second amount of power to the second light sourcein response to the second input.
 2. The spotlight of claim 1, furthercomprising: a lens coupled to the housing and positioned over one orboth of the first light source and the second light source; and a filmapplied to the lens and electrically coupled to the power supply,wherein the processor is further operable to receive a third input fromthe external device specifying an amount of current to be provided tothe film, wherein an opacity of the film is varied by the amount ofcurrent provided to the film.
 3. The spotlight of claim 1, furthercomprising an ambient light sensor supported by the housing andelectrically coupled to the processor, wherein the ambient light sensoris operable to sense ambient light, and wherein the processor isoperable to adjust the first amount of power and the second amount ofpower based on the ambient light sensed by the ambient light sensor. 4.The spotlight of claim 1, further comprising a distance sensor supportedby the housing and electrically coupled to the processor, wherein thedistance sensor is operable to detect a distance between the spotlightand an object at which the spotlight is pointed, and wherein theprocessor is operable to adjust the first amount of power and the secondamount of power based on the distance between the spotlight and theobject.
 5. The spotlight of claim 1, wherein the area lights arearranged around the center spotlight.
 6. The spotlight of claim 1,further comprising: a first variable switch supported by the housing andelectrically coupled to the processor, the first variable switchoperable to adjust the first input; and a second variable switchsupported by the housing and electrically coupled to the processor, thesecond variable switch operable to adjust the second input.
 7. Thespotlight of claim 1, wherein the first input and the second input arereceived from the external device via the transceiver.
 8. The spotlightof claim 1, wherein the first input is a percentage of maximum amount ofpower capable of being provided to the first light source, and whereinthe second input is a percentage of a maximum amount of power capable ofbeing provided to the second light source.
 9. The spotlight of claim 1,wherein the first input and the second input are complementarypercentages of a maximum amount of power capable of being provided tothe spotlight.
 10. The spotlight of claim 1, wherein the centerspotlight and the area lights include light emitting diodes.
 11. Asystem comprising: the spotlight of claim 1; and an external device thatwirelessly communicates with the transceiver of the spotlight, theexternal device operable to send the first input and the second input tothe spotlight.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the external deviceincludes a portable electronic device.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein the external device includes a user interface providing a firstvariable switch and a second variable switch, the first variable switchoperable to set the first input and the second variable switch operableto set the second input.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein theexternal device includes a user interface providing a single variableswitch that sets both the first input and the second input.
 15. A methodof controlling a light, the method comprising: providing a spotlighthaving a housing, a first light source supported by the housing, asecond light source supported by the housing, and a power supply, thefirst light source including a center spotlight and the second lightsource including area lights; receiving a first input from an externaldevice specifying a first amount of power to be provided to the firstlight source; receiving a second input from the external devicespecifying a second amount of power to be provided to the second lightsource; controlling, via a processor of the spotlight, the power supplyto provide the first amount of power to the first light source inresponse to the first input; and controlling, via the processor, thepower supply to provide the second amount of power to the second lightsource in response to the second input.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein providing the spotlight further includes providing a lenscoupled to the housing and positioned over one or both of the firstlight source and the second light source, and a film applied to thelens, and further comprising receiving a third input from the externaldevice specifying an amount of current to be provided to the film,wherein an opacity of the film is varied by the amount of currentprovided to the film.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:detecting, using an ambient light sensor supported by the housing of thespotlight, ambient light; and adjusting, via the processor, the firstamount of power and the second amount of power based on the ambientlight sensed by the ambient light sensor.
 18. The method of claim 15,further comprising: detecting, using a distance sensor supported by thehousing of the spotlight, a distance between the spotlight and an objectat which the spotlight is pointed; and adjusting, via the processor, thefirst amount of power and the second amount of power based on thedistance between the spotlight and the object.
 19. The method of claim15, wherein the first input is a percentage of a maximum amount of powercapable of being provided to the first light source, and wherein thesecond input is a percentage of a maximum amount of power capable ofbeing provided to the second light source.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein the first input and the second input are complementarypercentages of a maximum amount of power capable of being provided tothe spotlight.